Marching bass drums present specific difficulties and limitations. Players are frequently asked to perform with varying mallet selections. This creates the problem of where to store the additional mallets when not in use. Typically, grippers of plastic or metal are permanently fastened to the drum. This requires permanently disfiguring the surface of the bass drum with adhesives or by using fasteners compromising the integrity of the shell of the drum. Additionally, by being permanently affixed to the drum, storage and transportation becomes a difficulty. The affixed grippers frequently extend too far to fit correctly in the case and are subject to breakage when being stored or transported. Additionally, it is common practice to play directly on the rim with the shank of the mallets for a sound known as rim clicks. This practice can rapidly cause the rim to be chipped away or broken. In order to reduce this destruction of the wooden bass drum rims, a protective edge is desirable to keep the mallet shafts from coming into direct contact with the wooden rims. In order to resolve these limitations it is desirable to be able to quickly remove the apparatus as well as be able to reposition it to the most desirable position for access of the performer when executing rim clicks.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a means of holding the mallets used to play the marching bass drum.
It is another object of the invention to afford protection of the edge of the bass drum rim when being struck by the performers mallets.
It is another object of the invention to allow the unit to be quickly removed for transporting and storing the drum.